Petition: Require videogame publishers to keep games they have sold in a working state
petition.parliament.uk
Require publishers to leave videogames (and related game assets / features) they have sold to customers in a reasonably working state when support ends, so that no further intervention whatsoever is necessary for the game to function, as a statutory consumer right.
  • AnyOldName3@lemmy.world
    19·
    7 months ago

    In the olden days, online games didn’t have servers run by the publisher, they came with a separate program users would run to host their own server. Things like Minecraft still work that way, although I think there are servers run by Microsoft too now. For some games, this will be more complicated than others, but it’s not impossible.

    • eggmasterflex@lemmy.world
      10·
      7 months ago

      And if it were impossible (or infeasible), they shouldn’t be able to sell you a perpetual license knowing that it will expire when they take down the servers. If they are selling it as a service, there needs to be a minimum length of service specified. If the game is rendered unplayable before that date, the customer should be entitled to a refund.

      As it is right now, you buy these games with a hidden expiration date. You could buy The Crew as late as December 14th, 2023 with no way of knowing you only had 4 months to play it. Those people don’t receive a refund.